DETROIT – From its rosebud upholstery to its women-only accessories, it’s a quaint reminder of a bygone age in America and automobiles.
Thank goodness for that, a feminist might add.
Dodge dubbed its Eisenhower-era creation La Femme. As Dodge boasted in a characteristic magazine ad, it was “The first and only car designed for Your Majesty, the modern American woman.”
Introduced in spring 1955, the La Femme was a special version of Dodge’s Custom Royal, the automaker’s top-of-the-line two-door. And while today’s automakers obsess over making vehicles user-friendly for women, La Femme advanced the concept by several patronizing steps.
La Femme featured two-tone Heather Rose and Sapphire White paint, pink wheel covers and gold-plated La Femme badges on the front fenders.
Once inside, women were treated to an interior replete with pink rosebud-patterned tapestry, a black-and-pink dashboard and deep-pile burgundy carpeting. But the car’s most unusual features were the ladies’ accessories stowed in compartments behind the front seats: A matching rosebud-patterned rain cape, rain hat and umbrella. And a rose-colored vinyl shoulder bag that held its own emergency gear: A makeup compact filled with pale pink powder, a gold-toned cigarette lighter and case, a lipstick holder, imitation tortoiseshell comb, vanity mirror and silk change purse.
Encouraged by positive reaction to a concept vehicle that had made the auto show rounds the year before, Dodge marketers figured they had the perfect vehicle for the fashionable Mrs. Cleavers of the day.
Instead, La Femme became La Fiasco.
Women stayed away in droves, and men certainly weren’t about to be seen piloting the darling Rosebud. Offering the La Femme only in springtime didn’t help sales. Fewer than 1,000 La Femmes were produced before Dodge pulled the plug following the 56 model year.
Auto experts said the La Femme appears to be the only domestic car built specifically for women. And the reason seems obvious: Why build a car that automatically excludes nearly half the population as potential buyers?
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